Google Checkout Unprepared for Holiday Rush
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Written By Kate Zimmermann | December 11, 2006 | Share This
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Google Checkout can’t handle the holiday rush, according to J&R Electronics. This message is posted on J&R’s website:
“Attention Google Checkout customers:
Due to the large popularity of this promotion, we are currently experiencing delays in processing Google Checkout orders. J&R and Google are working around the clock to resolve this problem as quickly as possible. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. In the meantime, we have removed the Google Checkout option from our site so that we can focus on processing existing orders as quickly as possible. ”
The overload was caused by an online promotion offering $10 off every purchase of $30 or more with Google Checkout. This isn’t the first of Checkout’s problems — Mercury News reports a host of others issues, including slow turnaround, charging errors, lack of customer support, and decreased conversions (due to distrust of the new service). What’s more, many affiliates have had a difficult time tracking sales. A retailer on Webmaster World claims, “Google is washing affiliate links/tracking and not tracking those that are tracked with cookies, so that affiliates won’t get paid for sales made by customers they send to merchants using Google Checkout.” Though Google may not be deliberately “washing” affiliate tracking tags, this is further evidence that Google was unprepared for the holiday rush.
On the other hand, many retailers are willing to overlook Checkout’s woes in the interest of saving money on processing fees. Google is currently offering free transactions until the end of 2007. As one retailer reports, “This is millions of dollars in savings for us merchants… and it is a huge boost in getting a market share or taking it over. We sold an item for a large sum of money and used Google Checkout for processing it, saved us 200+ bucks in processing fees.”
The promotion may not be enough, however, to threaten PayPal’s market dominance — With over 123 million users, PayPal is nearly synonymous with online payment. Though PayPal is notoriously subject to email phishing, Google Checkout’s holiday errors and weak market position may present a greater risk to retailers.
Topics: Advertising: Online, ECommerce, Google |
Sorry to here retailers having problems. You have to give to Google for building business the free way.
Good Post
I have had horrible experiences with google checkout. To the point where I will never use them again. They have a complete and total lack of customer service.